Individual differences in mood regulation processes: Development of indirect measures of affective clarity and mood regulation competencies

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Tanja Lischetzke
• Subject Area: Personality Psychology, Clinical and Medical Psychology, Methodology
• Term: from 2008 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 85357820

In the present funding period, an ambulatory assessment (AA) study with 165 participants was conducted.Momentary mood and the time needed to rate momentary mood were measured 8 times per day for 14 days via handheld computers. To identify subgroups of individuals who differ in their mood course over time, mixture latent Markov models were applied. The aims for the next funding period directly build on this work: First, the mixture latent Markov models will be extended to appropriately deal with varying time intervals between measurement occasions (which are very typical in AA studies and which potentially influence estimated trajectories between momentary states), and time-varying covariates will be added to the models (to control for influences on mood not due to mood regulation such as events). Second, it will be analyzed under which conditions the mixture latent Markov models can be successfully applied. Monte-Carlo simulation studies will determine the number of measurement occasions and subjects needed to correctly estimate the model parameters, and two different strategies of handling varying time intervals between measurement occasions will be compared. Third, the convergent validity and the predictive validity of the latencies of responses to mood items that were assessed as an ambulatory indirect measure of momentary clarity of feelings will be analyzed. Fourth, the situational conditions of momentary RT to affect items will be scrutinized (in particular, characteristics of events, intensity and complexity of emotional experience).

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Participating Persons: Professor Dr. Michael Eid; Professor Dr. Jeroen K. Vermunt